Firefly Catching Days
by ICarryYourHeartInMyHeart
Summary: What if Charlie had gotten sole custody over Bella instead of Renee? With Bella growing up in Forks, what's to stop her from being best friends with Jacob? Will they fall in love? Will she even take notice of the Cullens if/when they arrive? Note:CH2 A/N!
1. First Sight

**Heyy, y'all. This is my first Bella/Jacob fic. I've only ever written for NCIS & The Hunger Games, so I hope I did this right. Please review!(:**

**Story Title: Firefly Catching Days**

**Chapter Title: First Sight**

**Rating: K [Though could change in later Chapters]**

**Summary: What if Charlie had gotten sole custody over Bella instead of Renee? With Bella growing up in Forks, what's to stop her from being best friends with Jacob? Will they fall in love? Will she even take notice of the Cullens when they arrive?**

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Charlie glanced in the rear view mirror to check on his baby girl. She sat remarkably still for an almost-two-year-old, and was staring placidly out the window at the wall of trees flying by them. A few minutes later when Charlie pulled up in front of the little bright red house it was as if Bella was a whole different child. She bounced in her seat, filled with renewed energy and eager to get out of the car. He smiled as he unbuckled her seat belt and as soon as her feet touched the ground she took off for the front door. She travelled as fast as her chubby toddler legs and unsteady balance would allow and Charlie caught up to her just as Billy pushed open the screen door.

"Jelly Belly!" Billy cried happily, catching the running toddler in his arms and swinging her up into a hug as she giggled.

"Down, Biwwy, down," she demanded through her giggles, "Wan' see bay Jake!"

Billy laughed as he set her down on her feet just inside the door. "Sarah's in the living room with him," he tells her and she disappears inside the house.

"Sawah!" she called, toddling into the living room flanked by both men.

A beautiful woman sat on the couch with silky pin straight raven hair down to her waist and warm onyx eyes as she grinned widely at the new comers. "Hey, Jelly Belly," Sarah greets the toddler with her usual nick name, cradling a tiny bundle wrapped warmly in a blue handmade quilt, "Come meet, Jacob."

Bella climbs up onto the couch carefully next to Sarah and peers carefully over her shoulder at the tiny baby. Her eyes go wide when his own fly open. But he doesn't cry, choosing to just look around curiously before his eyes fix on her. He has the same onyx eyes as both of his parents, framed by thick mile-long eye lashes. His skin is a beautiful shade of brown, several shades darker than Bella's creamy ivory and rose complexion. Fine tufts of soft jet black hair cover his head completely, sticking up in several different directions, and Bella reaches out tenderly, with a feather light touch; just like she had to use to pet the tiny hamster she'd been given by Harry Clearwater who was just as securely wrapped around her fingers as he was his own daughter's. But then, who wasn't wrapped around Bella's tiny chubby little fingers.

"Hi, Bay Jake," she whispers quietly as he gazes up at her curiously and she pets his soft hair tenderly.

Sarah grins up at Charlie, her face absolutely glowing. "I think she likes him," she tells him, and he nods his head in agreement.

"Of course she does. I am so happy for you guys, really," Charlie says honestly, grinning widely and clapping his best friend on the shoulder, "Congrats, guys. I thought about making a casserole or something, but I think we can all safely agree that, at best, my cooking is barely more than edible." And Billy and Sarah laugh at Charlie's glum expression. He, in turn, glowers at his best friend, who just smiles and walks to the kitchen to grab them a couple of beers.

Charlie and Billy take over the television a little while later as the Seattle SuperSonics face the Baltimore Bullets. Sarah gets up from her seat on the couch, allowing them to take over the whole living room.

"Bella, do you want to help me with Jacob in the nursery?" she asks, looking at the tiny little girl and feeling as if Bella were her own daughter.

"Yea, yea, yea!" Bella cheers, bouncing on unsteady chubby toddler legs and gripping Sarah's hand as they walk down a small hallway to the nursery.

Bella squeals in delight and points enthusiastically at the picture frame that held a piece of notebook paper covered in colorful squiggles and lines. "Fuuh Bay Jake!" she exclaims then points to herself, "Fum me!"

"Yes, Bella, thank you so much!" Sarah tells her, laying Jacob down on the changing table and strapping him in, "We thought Jacob would like to look at it."

Bella just squeals again and starts bouncing around, before realizing that she was supposed to be helping Sarah. "I hep now," she states, pushing a stool over to the table and climbing up carefully with Sarah's help.

"Okay, Bella, why don't you pick out a diaper for him," Sarah suggests, unsnapping the onesie and opening the dirty diaper. Luckily it was just number one.

"He'e go," Bella grins, handing it to Sarah proudly, then exclaims, "What that?"

Sarah laughs at Bella's reaction. "Well, sweetheart, Jacob is a boy, and boys have different…parts than girls," she tries to explain simply.

Bella just nods, thinking about this new piece of information, then giggles again. "Yooks funny!" she states, giggling some more.

"I agree," Sarah laughs, "Can you get me a wipey?"

Bella opens the container and separates one, handing it over. Together they snap up Jake's onesie again and Sarah follows Bella, who runs into the living room.

"Dada, Dada!" she cries, jumping into Charlie's lap, "Bay Jake have diff parts than girls!"

Charlie looks wide-eyed up at Sarah who shrugs her shoulders, cradling Jacob in her arms. "She helped me change his diaper," she states simply, going to sit in the rocking chair.

Bella climbs up to sit on the arm rest next to Jacob's head when the back door opens and shuts. "Hey, Sarah, just bringing the girls back! I've gotta go back to the house," Sue calls and two blurs of russet skin and raven hair race right up to Bella.

"Bella, Bella!" Rachel calls happily.

"Come play!" Rebecca demands, grinning as well.

But Bella shakes her head resolutely. "No, I stay wiff Bay Jake," she states firmly, her little finger wrapped up in his tinier fist.

"Peeasse, Bella," Rebecca begs, clasping her hands in front of her as Rachel does the same.

"Yea, Peeasse, Bella," Rachel repeats.

But Bella just shakes her head and reiterates what she'd said. The twins frown at her before going off to play in their room. Bella stays put by Jacob's side the entire visit. Eventually she starts to yawn widely just as the basketball game ends. Charlie groans as he stretches his stiff muscles and gets to his feet.

"C'mon, Bella, honey, it's time to go home and go to bed," he says, going over to ruffle her curls. But she just shakes her head stubbornly.

"No, stay wiff Bay Jake," she states firmly, refusing to budge. They argue back and forth a little but finally she relents after Charlie tells her she'll see him again tomorrow. Leaning over to Jacob she kisses his forehead and he blinks up at her. "G'bye, Bay Jake," she whispers, "I p'otect you awl-ways. Quo pat.*" Then she kisses Sarah's cheek, who returns it with a ruffle to Bella's hair and tries to hold back tears at her promise of protection, and gets down to toddle over to Billy. She holds her arms up expectantly and he pulls her up into the air to say good bye.

On the drive back home Bella falls asleep almost before Charlie can start the engine. He smiles to himself and knows that no matter what he does, he'll never ever forget the look on her face when she caught her first sight of Jacob Ephraim Black.

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**Review please?(:**

-Sarah Elizabeth


	2. Birthdays and Tragedies

**UPDATE: I forgot Billy was also paralyzed in the accident, so I fixed that.  
Idk if it says that in the book. If you know something different let me know and I'll change it!**

**ALSO: Please message me or review something you'd like to see added in this story, something you want to happen, etc etc. I'd be glad to try and work it in somewhere. Include their ages though, at the time of your event happening so that I can put it in the correct chronological order. I have no idea where I'm going with this until much later (teen years) so I'd be completely grateful for filler ideas! Thanks! **

**Thanks for all the reviews and alerts!**

**Uhm, so in this chapter Bella is seven and Jacob is turning five. I think I made them sound a little bit older than they're supposed to be, I honestly tried to keep them young acting and everything, but it was hard because I don't remember how little kids sound! So bear with me, I hope it wasn't too bad.**

**I wasn't meaning to make things so sad so soon, and I'm sorry for skipping so far ahead, but it's hard to write anything while they're still so young. And Jacob's mom dies when he's young, so in my head, this was the logical answer.**

**Anyways, I hope you like. Sorry it's taken so long, I've been pretty busy. I'll get the next part up as soon as I can manage.(:**

**Also, I forgot to put in the first chapter that Quo pat is Quileute for I love you, just btdub(:**

******WARNING: **Sadness up ahead.

**Story Title: **Firefly Catching Days

**Chapter Title:**Birthdays and Tragedies

**Rating:**K+

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As soon as her eyes flew open, Bella hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and hair and washed her face, just like Charlie had taught her to do. Once she had dried her face she rushed back to her room, her sock feet making her slip a couple times on the way back.

"Hey, kiddo, I thought I heard you up," Charlie said, appearing in the doorway to her room.

"Morning, Daddy," Bella grinned, "When are we going to Jake's?"

"As soon as you're ready; Billy said they were gonna pick up some breakfast," he answered, "So get dressed, baby girl, and we'll go, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, turning back to her closet.

She went through her clothes, looking for something that would keep her warm. She glanced over to the window and watched the little white flurries float down from the sky towards the earth. She sighed loudly and turned back to her closet. She dressed herself in a grey long sleeved thermal with dark wash jeans, navy blue and black snow boots, and a navy blue puffy vest. She combed her dark curls and put them in a pony tail on the top of her head, allowing the ringlets to fall delicately to the middle of her ears. She grabbed the long thin present wrapped in silver from under her pillow and skipped down the stairs, only to skid to a stop when she caught the horrified look on her father's face.

"Daddy, what is it? What happened?" she asked, bracing herself for bad news.

"Bella," he whispered brokenly, "Bella we have to go to the hospital…now."

He hurriedly helped her push her arms into her coat and rushed her out the door as he pulled on his own.

"What happened? Is Jacob okay?" she demanded, climbing into her booster seat in the back of the cruiser.

"I…I don't know; I'm not sure," Charlie stated, clearly upset and annoyed at not knowing any of the details. The only thing he'd been told was that the Billy, Sarah and Jacob were being taken to the hospital after being in a car crash. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Charlie flipped on the lights and sirens and sped mercilessly through town, taking full advantage of the fact that he could ignore all traffic laws. He paid no attention to how he parked his car, shutting it off and helping Bella out of the car before they ran into the ER. A nurse was about to stop him when he flashed his badge and she pressed the button on the counter to unlock the doors just as he pushed them open angrily. Bella was immediately overwhelmed by the bustling around of frantic nurses and doctors, trying to take control of the situation. In one direction she could hear Billy, crying and yelling for Sarah and Jacob. In another direction she heard broken sobs and didn't hesitate before darting away from her father and around all the nurses as she headed in that direction. She ran through the hallway and had just gotten to the right room when two arms caught her around the waist, hoisting her up into the air and pulling her away.

"Oh, no you don't, Miss Bella," a voice said, "Only family is allowed in."

"But I _am_ family," she argued, thrashing around angrily, not caring enough to see who was holding her back from the one person she needed to be with, "Let me go! Jacob! Jacob!" She screamed loudly as tears burned her eyes and fell onto her cheeks, sobs tearing through her chest.

She was finally let down when another voice told whoever was holding her that it was fine. As soon as her toes touched the ground she was gone, running straight into the small hospital room. There was a small russet skinned boy with clenched fists and tightly closed eyes with silent tears flowing down his cheeks and a nurse who was sitting beside him, cleaning a long shallow gash across his forehead.

"Jacob!" Bella exclaimed again, though this time in acknowledgement instead of desperation.

"Bella!" Jacob replied, eyes flying open.

She was across the room in the blink of an eye, climbing onto the bed beside him. He threw himself at her and she pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly and whispering into his ear that everything was going to be fine.

"Hey, only family can be in here," the nurse stated. But Bella just shot her a baleful glare as Jacob clung to her side tightly, daring the woman to try to make her leave.

"Jake, what happened?" she asked, pushing his glossy black hair away from his face.

"We…we…" he tried to say, but could hardly get the words out before he was sobbing against her neck, still in shock.

"Shh, Jacob, shh, it's alright, everything is going to be alright," she soothed, rubbing his back and holding him tightly, "Hey, I have a present for you." She attempted to distract him.

Jacob sniffled and his breathing was ragged as he pulled away slightly to look at her. "You do?" he wondered, and Bella was glad when she saw a little bit of his usual light return to his eyes.

She nodded her head with enthusiasm. "Yeah, it's…" she looked at her empty lap with a frown, "Oh, I must have left it in the car. I'll go get it, okay?"

"No! Don't leave me!" he begged, gripping her hand fiercely as she tried to get off the bed.

"It'll only take a minute, okay? And the nurse can finish bandaging your head. I'll be right back," she assured him, "I promise."

Jacob sniffled and nodded. She gave his hand one reassuring squeeze and left to find her dad. She saw him come out of a room down the hall and ask a nurse something. Whatever the answer was made his complexion pale noticeably and a sob burst through his lips as the tears fell down his face. The nurse looked on in pity and rubbed his back before moving on. Bella ran to his side, worried. What had happened?

"Daddy, what is it? What happened? Why is everyone hurt?" she begged, tugging on his hand, "Daddy, please! Tell me!"

"Sarah…Sarah's dead," he choked out, "And Billy's paralyzed from the waist down. Someone has to tell Jacob, oh God!" He was overcome with sobs then as Harry Clearwater burst through the doors, coming over to comfort Charlie, tears streaming down his face too.

Bella was frozen, numb, unmoving. She couldn't register this new information. It was impossible, ludicrous, completely insane. She'd just seen Sarah yesterday; Sarah who was all smiles and sunshine; Sarah who was always laughing; Sarah who had a light in her eyes that could never be affected; Sarah who danced around the kitchen barefoot and baked the most amazing chocolate chip cookies. And Billy, paralyzed! How could this be happening? Billy who danced around with Sarah; Billy who ran every morning; Billy who didn't deserve to be confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life. This just couldn't be true. But as Bella watched her father and Harry crying together she knew it had to be. They were both so strong and she'd never seen either of them ever cry. Suddenly she was speaking.

"I'll tell him," she offered, tears starting to fall.

By the time she made it back to Jacob's room she was having trouble fighting off the sobs that tried to wrack through her body. The nurse left silently as she crawled onto the bed beside him, gripping his hand tightly. He looked at her in confusion. He knew why _he_ was crying. But why was Bella?

"Jake," she tried to say, attempting to force down the sobs. She took a steadying breath as he wiped the tears from her face just as she had done for him. "Jacob," she tried again, steeling herself for the next words she had to say and deciding to just say it straight, unable to figure out how to say it nicely, "Your mom died and your dad is paralyzed."

Jacob's eyes widened in alarm and then he was screaming, yelling, sobbing, anything to make the truth go away. He tried to run but Bella held him in place, holding him tightly and rocking slightly back and forth. This couldn't be happening. It was too soon. He was too young. _She_ was too young. Why was this happening to him? What had he done wrong? He collapsed against Bella and her hands moved against his back, trying to calm him down. But who could really ask him to be? His mother had just died and his father would be in a wheel chair and on medications the rest of his life. He sobbed into her neck and they cried together, drawing comfort from each other's touch and presence. They stayed that way for hours, or maybe it was only minutes, until the twins came in. Rachel and Rebecca scrambled onto the bed too, and the four of them clung to each other and cried their little hearts out.

~J&B~J&B~J&B~J&B~J&B~J&B~J&B~J&B~J&B~J&B~

Jacob and Bella stood side by side with their hands threaded together tightly and tears streaming silently down each of their faces. He was dressed in a little black suit with shoes that made his toes hurt. She was wearing an itchy navy blue dress that she hated with a white long sleeve shirt underneath and uncomfortable dress shoes that gave her blisters on her heels. No words came to either of them as people stopped to pat their backs and give their apologies and condolences. The two of them just stared numbly at the mountains on the horizon, trying to push away the crushing grief.

Eventually the Blacks, Bella and Charlie were the only ones left. The funeral home worker stepped out of hearing range as one by one they stepped - or in Billy's case, rolled - up to give their final goodbyes. She and Jacob stepped up together, whispering their goodbyes and clinging to each other as the tears spilled onto the soil beneath their feet. Then they stepped away to let Rachel and Rebecca have their turn. When everyone had taken their turn Billy gave a curt nod and the casket was lowered into the ground. Jacob and Bella clung even more tightly to each other as sobs broke free from their chests at the crushing finality of the whole ordeal. Charlie put his hand on Billy's shaking shoulder, tears streaming down both of their faces. And Rachel and Rebecca were in an identical embrace to Bella and Jacob.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Billy exclaimed in anger around his own sobs.

It was horrible, really, that one wrong move could leave such a path of devastation in its wake. It only took one man from out of town who wasn't used to the slick icy roads to come around that bend in the road at illegal speeds. He had been careless and ignorant towards the speed signs that were obviously put in place for a reason. If he hadn't been killed instantly in the head on accident with the Blacks, Charlie would have had _way_ too much fun arresting him for violating traffic laws and manslaughter.

When they got back to Billy's little house food was being served and plates passed around. The same house that was usually full of happy chatter and giggling children was now suppressed, a dark oppressing cloud hanging over the whole place despite the rare bit of sunshine and warmth they were receiving. It was almost as if the weather were mocking them. There was hardly room to move around in the small space with so many bodies crammed inside the small space. Bella and Jacob each got a plate of chicken nuggets and carrot sticks before heading for the back door. She grabbed the long thin silver-wrapped present when he wasn't looking; the same present she hadn't gotten a chance to give him. Tables and chairs were being set up out back, but they continued on past them. They walked in oppressing silence down to the beach. Bella only stopped once to pull her dress up over her head and lay it on a stray piece of driftwood. She straightened the long sleeve shirt over the shorts she'd worn underneath while she toed off her uncomfortable shoes. She walked barefoot after Jacob and plunked herself down on the rocks next to him. She held out the box silently. He looked up at her for a moment as she glared out at the ocean, but eventually took the present from her outstretched hand.

"Happy birthday," she stated ironically, her voice sad. She watched as he tossed aside the silver paper and blue ribbon, pulling off the lid. "I made it," she offered thickly, tears filling her eyes for the millionth time that day, and her voice cracked when she added, "Mama helped me." She'd always called Sarah mama for as long as she could remember, and had always thought of her that way because Renee hardly ever came around.

Tears spilled onto Jacob's cheeks as he touched the feathers hanging from leather cord at the bottom of the intricate dream catcher. "Thanks, Bells," he whispered brokenly.

They sat there for the rest of the afternoon, crying and throwing rocks into the waves angrily. And unknowing to the other, both agreed that this had to be the worst fifth birthday a little boy could ever have had in the history of birthdays.


	3. Suggestions Please!

**_Okay, so I've no idea where I'm going with this story til much later [like teen years]._**

**_So I'd like to enlist your help!_**

**_Message me or review this story and tell me what you'd like to see happen. _**

**_Include their ages and the gist of your idea and I'll do my best to please you with my version of events(: _**

**_I'd really appreciate it, because I've drawn a blank, and I want to continue, I just have no ideas for the years between Bella at 7, Jacob at 5, and Bella at 15, Jacob at 13. _**

**_Drop me a line! I'd love to hear from ya! 3 Thanks(: _**

**_-Sarah Elizabeth_**


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